Planet Numpair

Starter of The Day Transum Mathematics Topics

Topics: Starter | Arithmetic | Place Value | Problem Solving | Puzzles

Transum,
This activity is about far more than just getting the answers right. The strategy used for arriving at the solutions can vary depending on the techniques known to the pupils and what resources they have available. The teacher could decide that this is a mental exercise or could suggest that pen and paper, calculator or a computing device could be used. Do your pupils go for a trial and improvement method or are they able to create simultaneous equations? Would they use a graphical method using a GDC or would they produce tables of number pairs in a spreadsheet. Once strategies have been shared refresh this page for different numbers so that new strategies can be practised.

How did you use this starter? Can you suggest how teachers could present or develop this resource? Do you have any comments? It is always useful to receive feedback and helps make this free resource even more useful for Maths teachers anywhere in the world.
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Answers

Note to teacher: Doing this activity once with a class helps students develop strategies. It is only when they do this activity a second time that they will have the opportunity to practise those strategies. That is when the learning is consolidated. Click the button above to regenerate another version of this starter from random numbers.

WORLD UFO DAY

Every year on July 2, people all over the world celebrate World UFO Day, a special day dedicated to studying Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) and exploring the possibilities of life beyond Earth. This day is filled with excitement as UFO fans of all ages come together to discuss and debate these fascinating topics. It's a time when enthusiasts share their curiosity about UFOs and the future of life among the stars.

Alien - phone home!

I read an article in a magazine where Dr Jonathan Jang, a NASA scientist, talked about the search for extraterrestrial life. He mentioned broadcasting a message to the Milky Way, and the first thing he would want to say is, "Hey, we understand mathematics, and we count in tens." That's quite an opener, and it made me feel proud to enjoy mathematics so much.

🛸 🛸 🛸 🛸 🛸

Spacial Skills

Shapes In The Stars

Join up the stars to find the hidden regular polygons.

The short web address is:

Transum.org/go/?to=shapestars

Fun Game

Don't Shoot The Square

You will need to be quick on the draw to shoot all of the numbers except the square numbers.

The short web address is:

Transum.org/go/?to=squareshoot

Exam-Style Questions

Planet Problems

For the older student, some quite challenging exam-style questions with an extraterrestrial theme.

Click the image above to see the questions.

Teacher, do your students have access to computers such as tablets, iPads or Laptops? This page was really designed for projection on a whiteboard but if you really want the students to have access to it here is a concise URL for a version of this page without the comments:

Transum.org/go/?Start=July2

However it would be better to assign one of the student interactive activities below.

Laptops In Lessons

Here is the URL which will take them to a related student activity.

Transum.org/go/?to=Oblongs

A Mathematics Lesson Starter Of The Day